F-16 fighters are ready and pilot instructors are waiting at a new training center in Romania, created to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 combat aircraft.
But there’s a catch: Ukrainian pilots have yet to arrive, despite claims last summer that the center would play a critical role in getting them into the air to defend their country against increasingly deadly Russian strikes.
It is noted that it is not yet clear when Ukrainian pilots will begin training at the center located at the Fetesti air base in southeastern Romania, which NATO allies also use for fighter training.
“This does not mean that Ukrainian pilots are not preparing. Twelve pilots – less than a full squadron – are expected to be ready for combat missions in the F-16 by this summer after 10 months of training in Denmark, the UK and the United States,” – the material says.
However, by the time the pilots return to Ukraine, only six F-16s will have been delivered out of the 45 fighters promised by European allies.
F-16 for Ukraine
Last August, Denmark and the Netherlands promised to provide Ukraine with 61 F-16 fighter jets.
In order for deliveries to begin, it is necessary for Ukrainian pilots and maintenance personnel to undergo training, and for Ukraine to prepare the infrastructure.
Recently, the speaker of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Yuriy Ignat, said that the training of the first group of Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 in the United States should be completed in early summer.
Read urgent and important messages about Russia’s war against Ukraine on the channel RBC-Ukraine on Telegram.
2024-03-11 07:35:21
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